Friday, January 31, 2014

I have a freebie to share with you! If you use any drawing or writing books or work on short story writing with your kids/students, I hope you will download these to try them out! To make a mini book, print pages 2-5 at 4 pages/sheet, then fold the paper down and then across.

We have used Draw Write Now, but I know there is a Draw and Write Through History series as well, which looks fun. Draw Write Now was perfect for my reluctant writer, and I ended up purchasing books 1-8 during an Educents deal. I think that means we are likely set for now and won't be buying the Draw and Write Through History books, but I'd love to hear which draw/write series you have used!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

What are some important family traditions you share with your kids? One of my favorite traditions is making pasta with my children! It's such a simple and satisfying task, and one that is appropriate for their skill level in the kitchen. We even used my great-grandmother's wooden cutting board.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Are you celebrating the 100th day of school with your 5th graders? This is also their 1000th day of elementary school! I have posted a freebie to use with this milestone. I'd love to hear your feedback if you enjoy this one!

Of course, they don't have to be 5th graders to create a 1000 dot design! This is included, so if you have younger kids they may enjoy just the art activities (choose from dots or stars):

Monday, January 13, 2014

This story touched me and I wanted to share it with you, too. I can't imagine going through loss like this, yet I am aware of so many families in various circles going through this very struggle. There isn't often much an outsider can do, so when the opportunity came that I could so something for someone, I was very grateful for the opportunity.

Now you can support this family too, by either donating directly to them or donating by purchasing this bundle on TPT with $70 worth of resources for just $25. Clicking on the image below will take you to the resource, which has a link to donate in the description:

I'm so sorry this family is going through this, and to all others who have passed through this journey. Thanks to Schoolhouse Divas for setting this all up!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

I've been toying with a few kid clip art images and had my 5 yo give me his input on how to color this one. He explained to me he thought it was a boy "because his hair is kind of short like mine" so I asked what color it should be and he wanted it pink. Then I asked about the bow and wondered if he'd seen anyone with a bow. "I think I've seen some kids with a bow. Definitely kids, not grown ups. I think the boy should have a green bow." Done, kid. "I think the picture should have something in it other than just white." Yeah, I can dig that. So here it is:

I think he is pretty fabulous! =) In fact, I liked it so much I added it to my newest product! Here he is on the cover:

Friday, January 10, 2014

It's been awhile since I posted but I thought it might be nice to do a week in review. I don't dump photos off my camera often enough but I grabbed a few from my phone. What we've been up to this past week:

There was a lot of creating! From snow walls to angry birds to gears galore, there were plenty of imaginary story lines this week. A huge 3D puzzle was completed (and I didn't touch a single piece). My 5yo wanted to make a chess set entirely out of LEGOs. He had clear ideas about how each piece should look. We played a game with them when they were finished. My 7yo had his 5th chess tournament and was thrilled to walk away with a trophy to add to his collection. We learned a little about Chinese New Year, and honed fine motor skills with a lot of cutting.We listened to Story of the World, and after I read the first 15 or so pages of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the 7yo finished the book the next day. I had a lot of explaining to for that book! We have talked about bullying in the past but I guess he forgot what it was, so we had to go over it again, as well as a bunch of other words we don't generally use in our house (nerd, dork, moron, etc.). It made me very grateful to be homeschooling these kids!